England's number one fan has backed the Three Lions to roar once more and make this summer's soccer showpiece his 'lucky 13th' World Cup. Gordon Mousinho, 71, has been captivated by the tournament since, as a 12-year-old boy on the Wembley terraces, he watched Sir Geoff Hurst blast the nation to glory in 1966.
Like many England fans, he was convinced that victory would be the start of a series of triumphs and world football domination. He devoted most of his life to touring the planet, desperate to see a repeat. But as Gordon jetted into Texas ahead of the opening match against Croatia, the victory 60 years ago remains the Three Lions' sole soccer success.
The business consultant, whose wife Katy, 70, and sons Joe, 36, and Antony, 32, are veterans of 38 World Cups between them, said he would love a win in the opener but would settle for a 'cautious draw' in the opening match. However, he believes manager Thomas Tuchel may have what it takes to finally lead England back to glory.
Gordon, who is attending his 13th finals, told the Daily Star: "We could win the tournament especially as Tuchel has no need for 'stars' in the team. We need to take the brakes off and attack with pace at every opportunity. Cut back on the tapping it around at the back, play with confidence not fear - the default setting for most recent managers. I would like to see some members of the current squad display a little more humility. But I would be ecstatic if we win it."
Gordon, the father of Portsmouth manager John Mousinho, was invited to Mexico City to record a special podcast of his memories of '66 in the run-up to the tournament. He and his family plan to spend the entire tournament watching matches across co-hosts the US, Mexico, and Canada.
Antony jetted out with new wife Jenna, 32, just two days after their wedding after convincing her it was a football trip and not a honeymoon. For Gordon, from Buckinghamshire, the tournament offers fresh hope, tinged with fear. He told how his first memory of '66 was the World Cup going missing before the tournament before being found under a bush in south London by a dog called Pickles, who became a national hero.
Gordon was baffled that tournament mascot World Cup Willy wore a Union flag waistcoat though Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland were not playing. One match was switched from Wembley to White City to make way for Friday dog racing. And England started the tournament badly, drawing 0-0 with Uruguay in their opening game until a Bobby Charlton belter nudged them to a 1-0 win over Mexico in the second and ignited the team. He went to every match after his mum bought him a nine-game Wembley season ticket for £14.25.
His ticket to the final cost £3.25, and he sold a spare to a tout for a fiver on his way to the game because he could not find anyone to go with him. Hurst's heroics lit up the nation and left him hapless chasing a repeat around the planet for the rest of his days. He said the legacy of the 'fantastic' triumph, which saw England beat West Germany 4-2 after extra time, had so far been 'an unfortunate one' for him. It left him hooked on the competition and exposed to a lifetime of England failures.
"It's now 60 years of hurt," he said. "It was an unbelievable experience that day. Yet it really set an expectation in England that we as inventors of the game and spreaders of it around the world should really win it every time it's played. It was slightly compounded by 1970 when we had a much much stronger team than 1966. We had upgraded significantly. We went in as the favourite. Then there was this team called Brazil - to my mind the greatest ever. And then we didn't qualify for two World Cups. But the expectation was still that we would win. It's the same back home even now I think. After we won 3-0 against Costa Rica in the pre-tournament friendly starts again. 'England will bring it home'. Sadly for England it's much harder to win now. There are many more teams and standards are so high. But with Harry Kane in the team anything is possible. We have done so well recently. It feels like we should have won but somehow we just never seem to get there. Every manager since Sir Alf Ramsey has struggled. There is this slightly defensive mentality and feeling that 'everybody's against us'. If Thomas Tuchel can free them from that he will certainly get an honorary knighthood. He might just do it."
